The Karma Circle: Friends in High Places
by Night-Waker
Summary: From Zim'sMostLoyalServent's "Anti-Gaz Prompts" and inspired by "The Karma Circle" stories. Much to everyone's surprise, Dib manages to make some actual friends in Hi-Skool. Friends who are part of a secret magic society and don't take too kindly to how Gaz treats her brother and others. Contains alternate ending to the episode "Gaz, Taster of Pork."


**Disclaimer: I own nothing. NOTHING I SAY!**

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**A/N: **_Well, here we go; my first fic in the Invader Zim fandom. This fic is based on an idea from Zim'sMostLoyalServent's "Anti-Gaz Prompts." Enjoy even though this kinda sucks!_

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It was safe to say that this wasn't at all how Gaz had planned her day to go. Usually her days consisted of waking up, breakfast, going to skool, coming home from school, playing Game Slave, dinner, bed, repeat. With the pounding of her brother if he wouldn't leave her alone, which happened so often it may as well be part of her routine. That was how it always was, as long as she could remember; not that she ever cared.

There were changes in her daily routine at times; that was inevitable of course as that's how life works, always full of surprises. Most of the time Gaz would simply brush off life's surprises like it was nothing more than a pesky fly buzzing too close for comfort. However, there were times where even she wasn't prepared for these surprises.

This was one of those times.

* * *

As was usual with Friday nights Gaz sat on the living room couch, Game Slave in hand. Try as she might to block him out, Dib's running around was causing her to lose her focus; and when she lost her focus she'd lose her game and when that happened...

"Do you have to be so loud?" she asked in annoyance. Despite all the years that had passed Gaz was still the moody girl she always was. Her dark magenta hair now hung down to her hips and she had quite the growth spurt last year making her one of the tallest students in her class. Her slender figure was now covered in a longer version of the dress she wore as a child. Indeed, she had grown into a good-looking young woman; however, she still had her nasty attitude and had all the politeness of a wild animal about to attack.

"Sorry Gaz. I'm just making sure that everything is perfect," Dib explained as he set a pizza out on the coffee table. Like his sister, despite the height change he was still pretty much the same right down to his obsession with the paranormal. Even as he entered Hi-Skool he continued to spend most of the time spying on Zim to prove he was right about the Irken. However since by this point everyone was pretty much used to the teen the other students pretty much ignored him and pretended he didn't exist at all.

So naturally, it came as a surprise to everyone when he found other people who actually shared his interests. Did this mean they actually believed him about Zim? No, they didn't; but at least they liked the paranormal, which was enough for Dib.

In fact, Dib's current running around was caused by preparing the house for their visit. Dib had invited them over to meet the rest of his family, catch the latest 'Mysterious Mysteries' episode, have some pizza, then go on the hunt for evidence of the were-cow that was rumoured to hunt city streets at night looking for spoiled milk to feast on. After that, his friends were going to stay the night over.

"Yeah yeah. I'm finally about to beat this one game I've been working days on, so if you or one of your stupid friends makes me lose, you'll pay," Gaz said with her usual threats.

At that moment the doorbell rang and Gaz pointed to the door with a grunt; even though she was closer to the door, she didn't feel like getting up to answer it. For her, her game was all the mattered right now. Dib rolled his eyes at his sister's laziness but answered the door anyway.

* * *

As the new kids, Jin and Zak hadn't expected to make friends too quickly; so it was great when they met Dib. While at first he did seem a little odd to them after a while they found wasn't so bad to be around after all. The twins honestly didn't understand why the other students couldn't stand him.

"Hey guys," Dib greeted as he opened the door, "Your just in time. 'Mysterious Mysteries' starts in a few minutes. Have the equipment for the Were-Cow hunt?"

"Like I'd forget," Zak said smugly as he held showed Dib his backpack which contained camera equipment, bait for the beast and laser guns (Just in case). As the twins entered the Membrane home, it took only a few seconds for the two to notice Gaz still sitting on the couch, playing her game while munching on a pizza slice at the same time.

"Is that your sister?" Jin asked. Since the magenta haired teen had different classes than the trio this was the first time Jin and Zak had a chance to meet the rest of the Membrane family. Gaz however just glared at her in annoyance, then stood up.

"I'm going to my room," she said to her brother, "_Don't _bother me, got it?" As Gaz headed upstairs, Jin and Zak looked at each other in confusion.

* * *

She was laying on her bed, all her focus on the piece of plastic in her hands. She was so close now, only one last stage before the final boss. Gaz had taken a glance at her clock five minutes before.

7:25 P.M.

Meaning that by now, 'Mysterious Mysteries' was over so Dib and the twins would be going on their hunt soon. Good, for Gaz it meant a night of peace and quiet without her brother's ridiculous rants about bigfoot or Zim. This was it, she had finally arrived at the final boss. The teen had absolutely no doubt she'd win as long as-

_Blast!_

She had only looked away for a split second at the hole in her floor that had been caused by a laser blast before she heard the deep _boop_ that meant she had lost. Instantaneously, an unspeakable rage lit up inside her. In the game she had been playing, if you died during the final boss you had to replay the entire final level from the beginning; and she wasn't going to let going through all that again go unpunished.

"_DIB! _" she yelled as she stomped downstairs. From the recently installed hole in her floor, Gaz got a good amount of the conversation, including who the focus of her wrath would be on. In the living room, Dib still held the laser gun in his hand looking at the hole in the ceiling with a shocked look on his face. Jin meanwhile was trying to make sure everyone was okay and Zak was saying something along the lines of "I told you to be careful!"

Dib was snapped out of his trance by his sister's yelling and looked over to see said sister standing at the bottom of the stairs with a vicious, murderous expression written all over her features.

"Gaz!" he began, "I'm sorry! I was just looking at it and-" he never got a chance to finish as Gaz suddenly grabbed him and flung him across the room. Ignoring the crack in the wall caused by the impact, Gaz wasted no time in grabbing Dib scythe like hair and giving it a good tug to bring him eye-level with her.

"You're lucky I still have one life left," she growled in a deadly tone, "but if you make me lose again I'll turn your life into a living, swirling torrent of never-ending nightmares and pain."

Knowing fully well Gaz was capable of carrying through with her threats Dib gulped and quickly nodded. Gaz immediately let go and went back upstairs without another word. If that had been Jin, Zak or anyone else for that matter, she would've done the same thing. While Zak immediately went to help Dib up, his dark blue haired sister stared after Gaz as she disappeared from sight. "Is she... always like that?" she asked.

"A little," Dib admitted, "but I don't really mind it. Well, most of the time."

"Maybe you could tell us more while we look for the Were-Cow," Jin suggested as she threw a glance toward Zak, who gave a knowing nod.

11:15 P.M.

Gaz had been asleep for about an hour now. It had taken a while but luckily (for Dib anyway) she had finally beaten her game. Meanwhile, two figures watched her from the doorway to make sure she was asleep. Once they were sure they entered. After about a two-hour search for the Were-Cow that led to absolutely nothing the trio had returned back to Dib's house for the night. Dib left the twins in the guest room.

Well... the room actually belonged to Dib's father but since he was almost never home it my as well have been the guest room. After waiting for Dib to fall asleep the twins carefully crept out of the room to the one next door.

Even in sleep Gaz looked like she was about strangle someone who dared to even breathe the wrong way. As the two stared down at her sleeping form Zak reached into his pocket and produced a small red sack full of green powder. Pouring some of it into his hand, Zak carefully sprinkled it over Gaz's face. She went into a short coughing fit before settling down into an even deeper sleep; now not even an earthquake could wake her.

"Ugh, what's she been eating?" Zak groaned as he slung Gaz over his shoulder, "She's so heavy!"

"Would you quit whining," Jin said with an eye roll, "we only have forty minutes before it wears off and if you're going to be like this the whole time you can use that powder on me too."

Now it was Zak's turn to roll his eyes as he carried Gaz down the steps and out of the house. They weren't concerned with Dib waking up and finding his sister gone, the Were-Cow hunt and his beating at the hands of Gaz had worn him out and he was asleep the moment he laid down in bed.

He'd be out for a while.

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11:55 P.M.

"...And so my dear Children, tonight we begin a new path!"

The first thing Gaz registered upon waking up was dizziness. As she shook her head to clear her vision she realized she was outdoors. Tall trees poking into the star-filled night sky told her she was in the large forest located around the outskirts of the city.

"Ooh! She's awake," a voice called not too far away. As Gaz looked over to the source of the voice she realized she was surrounded by about fifteen hooded figures. She also noticed she was tied to a wooden table, ropes wrapped around her arms and legs keeping her from moving too much. Surrounding the table was a pentacle with odd symbols drawn around it. On each corner of the pentacle were four small black candles. A few feet in front of her in the center of the shape was a black cauldron filled up with a mysterious liquid.

Oh yes, this wasn't part of her routine at all.

"What the hell is going on?!" she demanded as she struggled to break free, but the ropes were too strong.

"Ah, welcome child," a another voice said as one of the figures stepped forward. Judging from the medallion he wore around his neck and the how his robe was midnight blue -unlike the others that were wearing black robes- Gaz guessed he was their leader. "We've heard all about you and that _nasty _little attitude of yours."

"What're you talking about," Gaz snarled, giving the man a glare.

"Now don't pretend you don't know," he answered in more of a stern tone compared to the strangely calm one he had a minute ago, "Two of my children have told us all about how you treat your brother and others."

Then as if on cue two of the hooded figures stepped forward, pulling back their hoods to reveal Jin and Zak.

"Dib told us all about what a bully you are," Jin said.

"So we figured it was time someone gave you your just desserts." Zak finished.

"You see my dear," the leader began as he clasped his hands together, "The world has long since either forgotten or shunned the use of magic. They have forgotten all about how magic is sometimes all one needs to improve their life. This is where we," at that point he gestured to the people surrounding them, "come in, and tonight we are one step closer to making the world a better place; starting with you. If I were you, I'd feel quite honored."

That final sentence was the last straw. Gaz immediately became enraged and began to trash about in an attempt to break the ropes and escape, "I'd feel honored if you'd let me go so I can kick all of your asses!"

"Temper temper," he tsked as he shook his head slighty in disapproval of Gaz's behavior, "this is what I'm talking about. People like you simply cannot run free in our society, but luckily we have a way to fix the situation. Jin." The dark-blue haired girl walked over to Gaz and, pulling out a needle, poked it into one on Gaz's fingers.

Gaz growled at her as a small drop of blood trickled onto the needle. Walking over to the cauldron, Jin let the drop of blood fall into it and mix with the liquid already in it. All the while all of the other members of the magic society were chanting something in a language Gaz didn't know. Looking back at her with a smirk, Jin pricked her own finger on the needle. The red liquid quickly came to the surface and Jin held her finger over the pot as her own blood drop fell in. As soon as it did, the liquid gained a white aura and glowed.

"Now let's see...," Jin muttered as Gaz tried to move her head to see what was happening. Her squinted eyes flew open as she realized it was her memories.

"Hm, no. No. No. Ew no! No. Ah, here we go," Jin said as she looked through the memories and located the one she was looking for. It was a particular memory that Dib had told her and her brother about the time he gave Gaz a curse that made everything taste like pork. With a grin, Jin reached her hand into the pot.

* * *

_"Woo! What an incredible and daring escape! That was amazing," Dib said as he climbed out of the small totaled car._

_"I liked the part where the giant robot squid launched missiles at us," a younger Gaz replied. Suddenly the sound of helicopters cut into the night as searchlights shone from down below._

_"We're only tryin' to help ya, Pig Girl," a guard called out, "Give yourself up! Come on, Piggy!" The siblings quickly shed the beaver outfits they were wearing._

___"Science won't help you Gaz," said Dib._

___"Science won't replace your head once I tear it from your torso if you don't hurry!" the younger one said, venom coating her tone._

___"Right," Dib replied as he pulled out the SpellDrive needed to take them to the Realm of the Shadowhog. Before he had a chance to activate it however, Gaz grab it from him._

___"Hey what're you-"_

___Small pieces of metal scattered across the forest floor as Gaz threw the SpellDrive to the ground and stomped on it repeatedly until it was completely smashed._

___"Gaz stop! What's gotten into you?!" Dib panicked._

___"I-I don't know!" The girl had barely gotten the words out when a searchlight shone down on them both._

___"There they are," someone shouted as guards closed in on them in all directions, "Get 'em! Get 'em!" _

Back in the present, Jin made a stomping motion; making Gaz do the in the memory. As the guards captured Gaz and took her away back to her father's lab, she yelled curses at Dib as she was forcibly dragged away. Jin looked over at where Gaz had been strapped down; at one point she had disappeared in quick white flash of light meaning that the spell had worked. Now to see what had become of Gaz.

* * *

A few days later Dib led the twins down a hallway deep in his father's laboratory. Due to the timeline being changed no one had any memories of when Gaz had the curse lifted, simply because it never happened. She had instead been re-captured and brought back to her father where he and other scientists still perform a variety of painful tests to this day on her in an attempt to find a cure for her condition. Only the magic users knew the truth (courtesy of special memory potions they drank beforehand to keep from forgetting) and even then, they weren't planning on telling anyone that little secret anytime soon.

"Before we go in I have to warn you, my sister can get a little mad whenever she sees me," Dib explained as he stood in front of the door to his sister's chambers. He was still searching for a way to lift the curse from Gaz even after all these years and was still determined to find a SpellDrive that would take him to the Realm of the Shadowhog so he could end the cure his sister; even if his search hadn't been successful yet and may never be.

The twins nodded in understanding before Dib entered the code to open the door. As the twins entered the room and caught sight of Gaz it took all of their willpower not to laugh at her appearance. Having eaten nothing but a diet consisting of hot dogs for years, naturally Gaz wasn't in the best shape. The morbidly obese teen sat on a small mountain of hot dogs, stuffing her chubby face with the meat as she consumed one. Her hair had many bald spots in it from all of the testing done on her.

She looked like a true pig girl. Gaz narrowed her eyes as she spotted her brother, not noticing the other two with him.

"What do you want," she asked as she glared. She would've tried to escape and brutally murder Dib at the sight of him, but thanks to her obesity she couldn't even move. So instead all she could do was give him verbal abuse.

"I uh... just wanted to introduce you to my new friends," Dib said, slighty intimidated by his sister's glare as he pointed to Jin and Zak. The twins just gave grins and waved, not trusting themselves to speak in fear of laughing. Gaz just gave Dib a Do-I-Look-Like-I-Give-A-Damn look as she took another bite out of her hot dog.

As Dib tried to make conversation with Gaz, which was awkward and forced at best, Jin and Zak couldn't help but smirk at each other. For them, this was more than the perfect punishment for someone like her; forced to live in a test tube for the rest of her days with little to no contact with the outside world and eating only one thing each and every day while others made a media circus out of her and her condition. Sure some might call it a bit extreme and unfair, but that's life.

Always full of surprises.**_  
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End file.
